Moscow’s troops continue their advance toward the strategic city of Pokrovsk
The Russian military has successfully liberated the Donbass village of Novoolenovka, the nation’s defense ministry said in a statement on Telegram on Monday which was accompanied with a short video from the site.
Moscow’s troops also captured the nearby village of Novotroitskoe over the weekend, according to the ministry’s data.
Both communities are located southwest of the strategic Donbass city of Pokrovsk. Also known as Krasnoarmeysk, the city is the largest population center under Ukrainian control in the west of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). It has gone from a major supply hub for Kiev’s frontline fortifications to being on the front line itself.
Russian forces are currently launching a major offensive to the south of the city.
Novoolenovka is located just over 20 kilometers from it and Novotroitskoe is about 15 kilometers away.
The video published by Moscow’s Defense Ministry shows the soldiers waving their national flag while standing near ruined buildings presumed to be in Novoolenovka. The footage initially starts with an aerial view of the area, apparently taken from a drone, followed by a short clip showing the servicemen holding the Russian tricolor and standing against the background of a building.
According to the ministry’s data, Kiev has lost more than 420 troops to the fighting in the western part of the DPR as well as two German-made Leopard tanks and half a dozen artillery pieces over the past 24 hours.
Novotroitskoe was liberated last Sunday as Moscow’s troops continued their operations near Pokrovsk. Last month, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky referred to the defense of Pokrovsk and another Donbass city, Kurakhovo, as “the most difficult” for Ukrainian forces.
Located some 30 kilometers southeast of Pokrovsk, Kurakhovo is heavily fortified by Ukrainian forces and remains one of the last major populated areas they control in southwestern Donbass.
In mid-December, Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezuglaya said that Kiev had to replace a general commanding the nation’s forces in those areas amid Russia’s continued advance. The co-chairman of the council on integrating Russia’s new territories, Vladimir Rogov, described the move at that time as a sign of “the disastrous and difficult situation” for Kiev in those areas.
The Russian military have been on the offensive in Donbass ever since they captured the strategic town of Avdeevka in February. Moscow’s troops have been steadily advancing ever since and pushed Kiev’s forces out of almost 200 settlements this year, according to the head of the Russian General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov.
